Buying Miles - Is this the best option?
Jul 15, 2019, 6:40 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Raleigh-Durham
Programs: HH Diamond; Marriott Gold; AA Platinum
Posts: 758
Buying Miles - Is this the best option?
Here is the situation -
I need 251K miles to fly round trip to BKK from RDU next year ( flexible on time - can be end of March through middle of April for 2 weeks). Not frequent fliers - takes forever to get miles, and know that we will be paying to fly business class. And then - saw AA has a bonus points sale going on - I have roughly 84K miles in AA - and there is J availability to BKK. So - I can either pay ~3K for 2 of us to fly to BKK and back - or based on what is out there, at least 5K if we DONT use points.
Before I pull the trigger - wanted to see what you all think? Are there any other avenues I am not exploring?
Thank you for your replies....
I need 251K miles to fly round trip to BKK from RDU next year ( flexible on time - can be end of March through middle of April for 2 weeks). Not frequent fliers - takes forever to get miles, and know that we will be paying to fly business class. And then - saw AA has a bonus points sale going on - I have roughly 84K miles in AA - and there is J availability to BKK. So - I can either pay ~3K for 2 of us to fly to BKK and back - or based on what is out there, at least 5K if we DONT use points.
Before I pull the trigger - wanted to see what you all think? Are there any other avenues I am not exploring?
Thank you for your replies....
Jul 15, 2019, 6:57 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,585
Here is the situation -
I need 251K miles to fly round trip to BKK from RDU next year ( flexible on time - can be end of March through middle of April for 2 weeks). Not frequent fliers - takes forever to get miles, and know that we will be paying to fly business class. And then - saw AA has a bonus points sale going on - I have roughly 84K miles in AA - and there is J availability to BKK. So - I can either pay ~3K for 2 of us to fly to BKK and back - or based on what is out there, at least 5K if we DONT use points.
Before I pull the trigger - wanted to see what you all think? Are there any other avenues I am not exploring?
Thank you for your replies....
I need 251K miles to fly round trip to BKK from RDU next year ( flexible on time - can be end of March through middle of April for 2 weeks). Not frequent fliers - takes forever to get miles, and know that we will be paying to fly business class. And then - saw AA has a bonus points sale going on - I have roughly 84K miles in AA - and there is J availability to BKK. So - I can either pay ~3K for 2 of us to fly to BKK and back - or based on what is out there, at least 5K if we DONT use points.
Before I pull the trigger - wanted to see what you all think? Are there any other avenues I am not exploring?
Thank you for your replies....
If you find something suitable via either method, put the awards on a free, five-day hold. Then, and only then, go ahead and buy the additional miles.
Don't forget: It's not just the cost of the miles you would buy; it's also the value of the miles you already have.
Jul 15, 2019, 6:59 pm
#3
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Plus the value of the miles you would have earned from flying on tickets purchased with money.
Jul 17, 2019, 3:14 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Massachusetts, USA; AA Plat, DL GM and Flying Colonel; Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 24,233
Keep in mind that you will have to split the purchases between your two accounts to keep each one under AA's per-account limit of 150K miles bought or received per year.
Jul 17, 2019, 4:34 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: AA, UA, DL, NSA, CIA, MIB
Posts: 537
Curious about using AA miles to book a flight from LAX to CDG on Air Tahiti Nui. How would you search for this?
Looks like someone posted a YouTube video of their flight and had text that it cost 42k AA miles with some taxes.
TIA
Looks like someone posted a YouTube video of their flight and had text that it cost 42k AA miles with some taxes.
TIA
Jul 17, 2019, 4:41 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
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Posts: 29,585
That 150K limit is before purchase bonuses. Right now you can buy 250K miles in a single transaction: you pay for 150K, and get an additional 100K as a bonus under the current promotion. (Of course, that would still be 1,000 miles short of what the OP needs.)
Last edited by guv1976; Jul 17, 2019 at 4:51 pm
Jul 17, 2019, 4:53 pm
#7
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
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Posts: 29,585
You would call AA, and ask an agent to check award availability. But if you're looking to travel roundtrip, I would check cash fares; they may cost less than the 85,000 miles needed for the roundtrip.
Jul 19, 2019, 11:11 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Raleigh-Durham
Programs: HH Diamond; Marriott Gold; AA Platinum
Posts: 758
Thank you for your replies. So, I took advantage of the bonus AA is offering to buy miles and got 205K - then the 56K transferred from Marriott and for some reason, got another 10K as bonus...already had 28K in my AA account...so that put me at a sweet spot where I can now get the tickets. Worked out well - just need to figure out the return now.
Did check cash fares exhaustively - and this turned out to be a really good deal with the aa point bonus,
Did check cash fares exhaustively - and this turned out to be a really good deal with the aa point bonus,